This invention relates to a bimetal circuit breaker for responding to excessive current by sensing the heat generated thereby. The bimetal component of the circuit breaker is, together with a rocker member, resiliently supported in a frame.
Circuit breakers of the above-outlined type are generally known and serve as excess current safety switches, for example, in motor circuits or the like. Their purpose is to open the circuit as soon as the effective current flowing therein exceeds the nominal current by a predetermined value for a predetermined period. The circuit-opening movement of the circuit breaker is achieved by virtue of a heat-caused deformation of at least one bimetal strip. The heat is, as a rule, generated by an auxiliary winding through which the current flows. Such thermal excess current circuit breakers are described, for example, in German Pat. No. 1,105,505.